24 replies to this topic

[SurpriseMini]

Hi guys, 

 

Had a bit of a surprise the other day, turns out my dad has had a Mini sat in his garage for approx 30 years.

It belonged to a guy he knew, who was renting the garage from him to store it, it was half way through 

restoration when the guy passed away. My dad apparently asked the family if they wanted to come get his car and 

they told him they wanted nothing to do with it. He never dealt with the sale or removal of it as he assumed it

would cost him money, he doesn't know anything about classic cars you see. I however, love cars, and would 

love to be educated about this car.

 

So, Mini fans, I was hoping you could shed some light on the history of this poor little thing, I have fairly decent

mechanical knowledge, but unfortunately not any specific knowledge of Minis. I have dropped the front sub frame 

out of one years ago but that's pretty much my sole experience with one. I know enough to realize that this thing could 

get back on the road one day after some hard work, however, first of all I would like to learn about it before 

deciding what happens to it.

 

Sorry for the essay, I'm sure you want to see it...

 

https://www.dropbox....194828.jpg?dl=0

 

https://www.dropbox....133050.jpg?dl=0

 

https://www.dropbox....133007.jpg?dl=0

 

https://www.dropbox....133013.jpg?dl=0

 

https://www.dropbox....133148.jpg?dl=0

 

https://www.dropbox....133145.jpg?dl=0

 

Things I know... Its a 1968 Morris MkII Mini which was originally in Beige, it's the 850 originally, the interior was 

renewed before the guys death and is in lovely condition. The ignition system has mainly been removed.

I tried to move the exposed flywheel with the biggest screwdriver I had with me with no luck, but had no

easy way of levering. There are no keys.

 

Things I would like to know...

Am I wrong about it's potential?

Can I verify originality from the VIN?

Is it the original engine?

Is the engine and spec desirable even though it's the smallest engine?

What is the size of the bolt on the bottom pulley?

Is there anything unusual about one from this year?

Should I have such a soft spot for it after only a few days?

 

If anyone has any info it would greatly appreciated. It is a three hour drive away, so its not easy

to access. I could not spend much time around it during this visit to my dad, so hopefully with help

I can return in the future with new and useful knowledge, and time to tinker.

 

Thanks!

[ukcooper]

sire people who can help will be along shorty, but save any tax disk's in the car and any docs ya can track down

Edited by ukcooper, 27 June 2018 - 08:55 PM.

[poohbah]

What a great story and what a lovely car.  I reckon some people more knowledgeable about these this than I will be able to confirm that it's worth saving and worth some effort to restore to original condition.

 

As for your question "Should I have such a soft spot for it after only a few days?", this means you've got the bug and welcome to TMF!  I bought my first Mini in the early 1990s as a simple run around, and got the bug really quickly.  I've never regretted it or looked back, apart from the time when I didn't have a Mini!

[poohbah]

And by the way I had a 1970 Mk II Super Deluxe, for which I still have the original bill of sale.  

[SurpriseMini]

Thanks for the welcome, and the advice. You both have some cracking motors!

 

I do seem to fall for the underdog, I once owned a 1982 Cortina, it was in primer, older than me, and half rust, but what fun 

I had. The main thing I want is to see it hit the road again one way or another. I doubt I have the money or skill, so the next 

best thing would be seeking someone who has. But I will approach that road in the future.

[poohbah]

Thanks for the welcome, and the advice. You both have some cracking motors!

 

I do seem to fall for the underdog, I once owned a 1982 Cortina, it was in primer, older than me, and half rust, but what fun 

I had. The main thing I want is to see it hit the road again one way or another. I doubt I have the money or skill, so the next 

best thing would be seeking someone who has. But I will approach that road in the future.

I had a large part of the skill, but time ran out for me and I was determined to get mine back on the road.  So I opted for someone with the skill, but who needed payment of course to get it up and running again.  It took six years from rolling shell to fully restored, so if you've got the patience you can get it done, and if you've got some money it'll help too.  Either way, take care to enjoy the ride!

[scoop-deluxe]

You say you have a soft spot now, wait until you drive one. Hooked for life!!

I cant help with your other questions as its a bit different here in Oz but crank bolt is probably the same. 1 5/16th

Have fun!!

[surfblue]

Im seeing potential there.

Its quite a rare model a standard Mk2 from 1st year of production, not so many on the show scene, Ive a Mk1 which is where a lot of the interest is at but a nice Mk2 is very desireable.

It will have the standard 850 cc engine (dont think 1000cc was option then?, could be wrong) which is a great little engine if not the fastest.

Bodywork condition is everything but virtually anything can be restored given time, ability and funds!

Love to hear what you do with it.

[MikeRotherham]

Looks like the engine number and chassis/vin number plates are present.

 

You could get info about the car from those.

 

I think you can get the engine type from the engine number.

 

This is a fascinating story. The car was probably the deceased gentleman's pride and joy.

 

Have you only just found out about the car?

 

Did your father just happen to mention it?

 

Being a bit cynical here, do you or your father have ownership of the car? Reason being, it's funny how some people suddenly become interested in something they previously had no interest in when they find out that that something might have some value.

[SurpriseMini]

Im seeing potential there.

Its quite a rare model a standard Mk2 from 1st year of production, not so many on the show scene, Ive a Mk1 which is where a lot of the interest is at but a nice Mk2 is very desireable.

It will have the standard 850 cc engine (dont think 1000cc was option then?, could be wrong) which is a great little engine if not the fastest.

Bodywork condition is everything but virtually anything can be restored given time, ability and funds!

Love to hear what you do with it.

Ah interesting to know. A 'how many left' search would suggest that only 47 of this exact spec are on the road still, but I don't always trust their figures.

Wiki is not too clear on the engine options, which may reinforce your point.

 

The bodywork would be the main trouble for me, It seems that any rust is minorish and I'm sure an experienced person could derust it without many issues.

All panels seem nice and straight apart from the bonnet, which has seen better days, but I'm sure again could be restored in the right hands. I did not have time to 

examine the underside, but the garage seems pretty watertight so you would assume the underside is in fair condition.

 

If I do anything with it, be assured it will be documented.  

 

Looks like the engine number and chassis/vin number plates are present.

 

You could get info about the car from those.

 

I think you can get the engine type from the engine number.

 

This is a fascinating story. The car was probably the deceased gentleman's pride and joy.

 

Have you only just found out about the car?

 

Did your father just happen to mention it?

 

Being a bit cynical here, do you or your father have ownership of the car? Reason being, it's funny how some people suddenly become interested in something they previously had no interest in when they find out that that something might have some value.

Plates are indeed present and legible, I am just wary of posting the exact numbers on the internet. Are you aware of any info pages or spreadsheets

available I can use to verify?

 

I would imagine it was an important car to the gentleman, he was restoring it himself it seems, one of the rear hubs is disassembled, and the bodywork 

looks like it was prepped and primed for painting 15 years ago, my guess is that any rust came after that.

 

Sunday was the first day I ever heard about it, I am trying to declutter for my dad, and I asked him what was in the garage expecting it to be full of rubbish!

 

This was my first concern too, I have discussed this with a solicitor I know and he raised these points... If the family by some fluke still had a proof of

purchase (probably long gone), even after the son wanting nothing to do with his dad, they would have a hard time convincing a court that they had any

claim to it after 15 years of not trying to get it back. Also, the moment this hypothetical claim were filled, we could file a counter claim against them for the

£20p/m that was not being paid to my dad for storage of the vehicle, this would then have interest added to reflect inflation, and a non payment fee could 

potentially be added, I estimate £4000-£5000 to pay my dad off.

 

*I will note, that I am taking the 15 year lack of interest by the family, and the rental owed, as a fair claim to the car.

 I am sorry if anyone reading thinks otherwise, but tough.

[Twincam]

What about a heritage certificate? It'll mean forking out a bit of money to begin with but it'll give you a piece of documentation that would also compliment the history.

[miniQ]

Am I wrong about it's potential? If it's a genuine MK2 in almost original condition then it has tonnes of potential and will fetch a pretty penny

 

Can I verify originality from the VIN? - Not really they can simply be slapped onto a different shell.

 

Is it the original engine? Engine tags will give the best idea

 

Is the engine and spec desirable even though it's the smallest engine? The most desirable engines are cooper s engines. 850cc engines with a magic stick gearbox are probably the next best sought after. Really matching the original engine with the original shell is what drives the value of them.

 

 

Is there anything unusual about one from this year? Not really... unmolested MK2's are hard to come by.

 

Should I have such a soft spot for it after only a few days? Yes. It's not worth over £5k though.

Edited by miniQ, 29 June 2018 - 06:57 PM.

[SurpriseMini]

What about a heritage certificate? It'll mean forking out a bit of money to begin with but it'll give you a piece of documentation that would also compliment the history.

I've not heard of one of these, will look into it, thanks.

 

Am I wrong about it's potential? If it's a genuine MK2 in almost original condition then it has tonnes of potential and will fetch a pretty penny

 

Can I verify originality from the VIN? - Not really they can simply be slapped onto a different shell.

 

Is it the original engine? Engine tags will give the best idea

 

Is the engine and spec desirable even though it's the smallest engine? The most desirable engines are cooper s engines. 850cc engines with a magic stick gearbox are probably the next best sought after. Really matching the original engine with the original shell is what drives the value of them.

 

 

Is there anything unusual about one from this year? Not really... unmolested MK2's are hard to come by.

 

Should I have such a soft spot for it after only a few days? Yes. It's not worth over £5k though.

Thanks for the info, gives me more of an idea about it.

I will have to arrange another visit when I can spend some decent time looking over it with my tool kit, see if the engine turns, see if I

can match numbers up, see if I can find missing parts.

I did notice the VIN plate is screwed on, I suppose like you say, hard to know if its on the original shell. Are there any ways of knowing that 

you have an original MkII in front of you?

 

 

Every time I look at the picture of it sat in the garage it looks sadder and sadder for being there, poor thing is getting to me, the gf is already

giving me looks when I talk about it haha.

[Minigman]

I think this is a great little car. Provided you can secure ownership (I agree with your reasoning and the valuation of storage costs etc over these years) it would be a great project. An original Mk2 is a hard thing to come by these days. The mk2 was only manufactured for 3-4 years so makes them quite rare. If you want to keep it which being a mini addict I would, obviously, you could get a British heritage certificate for it which would identify the original factory spec. There is also a good book available called Factory Original by James Taylor covering both mk1 & 2 minis. It’s about £30 on eBay and is a good reference book. Fully restored to a good level and in ‘original’ condition it would be worth around £10k I reckon. Very few come up for sale though so it’s hard to say what someone will pay. Top condition early 850 mk1s can fetch nearer £20k, and a ‘59 even more these days so who knows! I own a few minis including a nice early mk1, and would love to add a mk2 to my collection as they’re becoming rarer and more sought after. Good luck with securing ownership and let us know how you get on.

[Minigman]

I forgot to add - if you’ve never driven a mini, do it now. If you don’t hate it, you’ll be addicted forever! Loads of members are more than happy to take prospective owners out on a taster session.